Toronto Film Fest Docs Include 3D Herzog, Springsteen, Errol Morris

The Toronto International Film Festival is always a hot spot for new films, especially Oscar bait, but most attention put on the event is directed at dramatic features. That's fine; the city also has Hot Docs, so non-fiction film is certainly celebrated enough up there. Still, this year's crop of TIFF documentaries could be one of the most exciting yet. Usually I don't pay much attention to the selections, partly because I know doc programmer Thom Powers will bring the best down to NYC for his Stranger Than Fiction series. But with new works from Errol Morris, Ondi Timoner, Frederick Wiseman and Werner Herzog -- whose entry is in 3D! -- the fest is beckoning me to make an appearance in Toronto this year.

The Herzog might be the most appealing. Titled Cave of Forgotten Dreams, it takes the viewer on an exploration of ancient French caves. Anyone getting weary of 3D lately can not resist putting the glasses back on to see what the director of Encounters at the End of the World does with the format (see our post from April for video of Herzog talking about the project and his use of 3D). As for Morris, his latest is Tabloid, about a former beauty pageant who abducted and raped a man in the 70s. It had been expected to bow at Cannes, but better late than never. Wiseman's Boxing Gym, of which I had the pleasure of seeing the first few minutes at Silverdocs, looks excellent. And as always, it's best to see Wiseman's films when the opportunity arises since you won't be able to Netflix them down the line.